This kit was my first experience with a product from Orange Model, and to my knowledge, this was the first kit that they introduced, at least it was the first one that I noticed. This was actually a fun kit to build, as the engineering was on par with some of the manufacturers known for kits that are nearly flawless to assemble. The plane itself built up with very few issues, the tow tractor that was included provided some challenges with the small parts, and photoetched items, and the photoetch tie downs require the most experience to complete. If you are interested in adding a 1/72 scale copy of the US Navy’s newest jet to your collection, this is currently the only one available, and it is a great kit.

Eduard’s BigSin set for Tamiya’s 1/72 Block 50 F-16CJ includes seven sets previously issued individually, creating a wonderful update set for the kit. The set includes resin replacements for the wheels, the ejection seat, the exhaust nozzle and open speed brakes. The set also includes two frets of photo-etch (one for the interior and one for the exterior details), a complete canopy mask set and a fret of prepainted remove-before-flight tags. As the sets were previously released individually, combining them into a single set results in some duplication, which is not a bad thing if you have another Tamiya F-16 kit in the stash.

Background

As described in Crecy Publishing information paper, “What manner of aircraft pioneered airborne radar and anti-submarine warfare, almost replaced the immortal Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, and yet disappeared from the annals of aviation history with not so much as a footnote in most authoritative histories of the WWII? The elusive B-18 bomber.

The very few stories that have appeared since the end of the war invariably spoke of the aircraft in crude and disparaging terms including ‘the bomber that nobody wanted,’ but more than 30 surviving crew members who served aboard the aircraft had no such disparaging words. How could so many people be wrong?

Developed in parallel to the DC-1, the B-18 and it’s obscure development, the handsome B-23 were precisely the right aircraft, at the right time, to help America defeat the serious Axis submarine threat in the Caribbean and train most of the B-17 crews who headed overseas.

Furball Aero design is one of the new companies that has been around for a few years, providing decals for many of the subjects we modelers of Modern Aviation subjects really want but rarely seem to get… Go to their site for details.

This decal is a simple but elegant way to deal with canopy framing… On the 1/48 B-1B, this framing is very prevalent. Now, I know many have not or will not build this kit. It’s huge. It has presence. And it’s an accurate rendition of the “Bone”. For the most part. But with work, it looks great when complete. This model is now on display on the overhead desk of my pod in our B-1/B-52 System Program office, and has garnered a lot of attention…

Roy Sutherland has been around for a bit, providing resin details we never knew could exist, but now do because of his commitment to improving basic products. This set is one of four that I used on the new (but old) Revell B-1B… they are in Roy’s “Barracudacast” resin accessories branch of his company. On to the review!

This set is comprised of four sets of exhaust augmentor tubes, four augmentor flame holders, four sets of exhaust nozzles without turkey feathers, and three sets of support arms sufficient to detail all four nozzles. It is relatively simple in concept, but requires some mastery of measurement, plastic removal on parts, and care with removal of the support arms from the casting block. Roy also offers PDF instructions for those who need larger versions on his website.